We've all heard the news. We all know it's happening. The wave upon wave of U.K. female artists hitting U.S. shores isn't just the normal tide coming in; it's a bloody monsoon. Even those who think they're oblivious to this occurrence probably could check their social feed and realize they're likely following Florence Welch, Natasha Khan, Laura Marling, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Jessie J., Birdy, Jessie Ware, Marina Diamandis, Charli XCX, Nina Nesbitt, Emeli Sandé, Pixie Lott, Foxes, Chlöe Howl, Gabrielle Aplin, Dragonette, Ella Henderson, or of course the lady who probably started this all, Adele (via Amy Winehouse). And if anyone thinks this is just a passing trend, you should know that this just the beginning. And perhaps the beginning continues with Eleanor Penfold.

Eleanor came to our attention after two nights at Molly Malone's last summer. The shows weren't really promoted and therefore only a handful of people were on hand for one of the most vulnerable, raw, and beautiful performances we've ever witnessed. She was joined by the legendary Justin Clayton and lovely Vanessa Freebairn-Smith (Sonus Quartet) and we were quick to acknowledge that this wasn't just a random stage collaboration. Clayton was producing this girl.

Pure joy.

Because if you know Clayton or his shockingly under-appreciated 1999 album, Limb, this was the exact crushing, agitated, tortured-soul pairing Penfold needed. We wanted to scream about it or in today's modern world, tweet, and of course we did, albeit in our own cryptic way.

A year and another cryptic tweet later, Eleanor is back in Los Angeles working on new music and performing a show at pehrspace on 9/7. Before this, though, we decided to have a quick chat with her (our first interview in over a decade) and get the scoop on her music and how she's liking Los Angeles.

LAU: So, first of all, we love you. But enough about us. How are you today?

EP: I am not too bad. Currently getting to grips with designing my website which is a whole can of worms.

LAU: Ok, you're from the U.K., but you've been living in L.A. for a bit. What brings you to town?

EP: Well I am enrolled in some music business classes as an international student to try and figure out what I'm up against, and the guy I make music with lives here, so that's handy. And also it's sunny!

LAU: Justin Clayon, yes? He's a legend. We've been wondering what he's been up to these days. How has it been working with him?

EP: Yes indeed. He is a very talented chap. He's the first person I've worked with musically. As an experienced artist himself, he's helped me with so much in regards to figuring out what I want to be as an artist. He twiddles a lot of knobs, which he hates doing, but he'll be doing that until we can maybe one day afford to pay someone else to do that stuff. But he's a fantastic musician and an all round great guy.

LAU: When we saw you perform last year and saw him on stage with you (along with Vanessa), it just made perfect sense. It sounded amazing. Actually, you played your first shows at Molly Malone's, kind of an off-the-radar venue that we like to stop by from time to time to see new artists. Was it your intention to play your first shows away from the hustle and bustle of L.A.? Justin's been playing there for years.

EP: Yes. My first ever show! Thank you. I am really looking forward to doing a show with a rhythm section in the mix as well, as I haven't done that yet. And I think a show with drum and bass will give my songs the bite that they are intended to have. As for the Molly Malone's gig, the booker did us a favour because we had no draw, me being completely unknown. It wasn't that we were necessarily trying to play away from the hustle and bustle, just that we wanted to do a show, and that was the gig we got. Ha this is also my first interview!! I feel that may be a necessary disclaimer.

LAU: We personally like it when artists don't go straight to the more popular clubs, which is why we made it a point to see you there. So thank you for playing there. Is there a timetable to releasing anything or are you just in development mode for now?

EP: We're almost done with development mode. We've got about 20 songs. Next thing is to figure out how to get into a studio with a band and all that follows... We are getting rather sick of doing everything on a laptop in other people's living rooms. Although some of my songs are quite electronic, what's missing is human beings. And space. I love the sound of bands like the White Stripes, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, etc. And I just want it to be more organic. My sound that is, not theirs.

LAU: You mentioned that your songs are intended to have bite. "State Vector Collapse" is absolutely vicious. How did this song come about lyrically?

EP: Though it may sound like it, that song isn't actually about anyone specific. I guess it takes the form of a kind of breakup song, but it really it just started as a piece of music and became a way for me to vent some of my daily anger at the world. It was also really good to stretch myself vocally for that one. It's a quite a cathartic experience for me. Which is always useful... I have a lot more songs like that, which you won't have heard. And perhaps no one ever should...



LAU: When you posted it a few months back, we tweeted that it was one of the best songs of the year, but because of the 140 character limit we abbreviated the title, which confused everyone. Regardless, we stand by that statement. It's brilliant.

EP: Well thank you very much! I never saw that (not very good with twitter). Actually I generally abbreviate it to SVC, unless I'm feeling particularly pedantic.

LAU: Is there a deeper meaning behind the title of it?

EP: I thought you'd never ask.... It's actually a quantum physics reference. I think now it's generally referred to as wave function collapse but it describes the moment whereby the act of observing reduces something to a single state. I am by no means a scientist. And I also may be wrong about that. But Justin had it in a list of potential song titles, and never got round to writing it. So I stole it and wrote it (with him.) I like it because it seems to suggest complete and utter implosion. So basically I got that bit of science from Justin. But it's meaning does indicate a moment in time when everything is focused, which I thought was appropriate to the song. Anyway as you can see I could expand on this all day... NB - SVC is a demo with fake strings and fake drums... but maybe if you tweet enough, someone will finance the real recording!

LAU: Doesn't matter if you may be wrong. It sounds cool and now we have to re-listen to the song for added contextual meaning. You mentioned the weather in Los Angeles. Laura Marling recently moved to L.A. and also mentioned the weather as a factor. We find it interesting that many L.A. musicians want to move to the U.K. because of course the music scene, but also the change in seasons. Isn't L.A.'s weather a bit too "cheery" for your writing?

EP: I guess I haven't been here long enough to miss the rain yet... Yes the music scene in the UK is fantastic, but I'm finding some pretty cool stuff here too. As for my writing - I pretty much carry a black cloud around with me all the time anyway, so the sun doesn't really make a difference

LAU: Haha. Have you seen any bands you might want to play a show with?

EP: By finding cool stuff, I generally mean cool stuff on the radio. I have been far too busy/poor to go to loads of gigs. Although, I did go to a CD release party for Lucy Schwartz the other night, and she's quite good. albeit a completely different vibe to what I do

LAU: Ah, her show at No Vacancy. We missed it. Last question... We're excited to finally present a show with you in September. Who will be playing with you and will there be any changes from the time we saw you last year?

EP: Well Justin and Vanessa will be playing with me again. And we are still on a frantic hunt for a rhythm section as all the guys we know are currently away on tour. The show last year comprised of the songs I had written at the time, and this time it'll be mostly new ones, I think (including SVC). But whatever the case, I'm really really looking forward to it! Thanks so much for the opportunity to play on one of your nights!

Eleanor Penfold performs 9/7 at pehrspace. Check out the live video for "Ruler of Waves" below and try to not let our shaky hands distract you from the song since we were much more focused on her performance than holding a camera steady.


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Labels: eleanor penfold, justin clayton, los angeles, mp3, music, pehrspace, sonus quartet, state vector collapse, uk, vanessa freebairn-smith, video